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General Liability: Your Jobsites Require It
For most C-39 licensees, general liability is a contract requirement: GCs, builders, and commercial jobs demand it even where the CSLB doesn’t. No certificate of insurance, no start date. We place this hard class honestly.
The State Doesn’t Require It. Your Contracts Do.
Two different authorities decide what a roofer carries: the CSLB decides what keeps your license active, and your contracts decide what gets you on the jobsite. GL sits almost entirely on the contract side.
If you hold your C-39 as a sole proprietor, a partnership, or a corporation, the CSLB does not require you to carry general liability insurance. You can renew your license without it. That surprises a lot of roofers — and it’s why some crews discover the real rule the hard way, standing in a GC’s trailer.
Because the real rule lives in your contracts. Most general contractors, builders, and commercial property owners require a certificate of insurance — usually naming them as additional insured — before a roofer can set foot on the job. No certificate on file, no ladder off the truck. Unless you’re an LLC, the state doesn’t ask — but GC and commercial jobsites do.
There is one entity type where GL is the law: if your license is held by an LLC, the CSLB requires $1M in aggregate general liability by statute, on top of the $100,000 LLC employee/worker bond. The full LLC rules are on the LLC bond page.
| Sole proprietor | Not required by the CSLB. Required by contract on most GC, builder, and commercial jobsites before work starts. |
|---|---|
| Partnership | Not required by the CSLB. Same jobsite reality — certificates of insurance are demanded by contract. |
| Corporation | Not required by the CSLB. GCs and commercial owners still require certificates before you’re on the schedule. |
| LLC | Required by statute: $1M aggregate general liability, in addition to the $100,000 LLC employee/worker bond. |
So the practical question isn’t “does the state make me carry GL?” It’s “can I bid the work I want without a certificate?” For homeowner-direct work, sometimes. For GC and commercial work, almost never.
Why Roofing GL Is a Hard Placement
Roofing is one of the hardest liability classes in California. That’s not a reflection on your company — it’s the class. Here’s what placing it actually looks like, without the sales gloss.
The Standard Market Says No
Many standard carriers simply won’t write roofing. A declination isn’t a verdict on your operation — it’s their appetite. Knowing who to skip is half the placement.
E&S Is the Normal Route
Roofing GL commonly places in the excess & surplus (E&S) market — specialty carriers built for classes the standard market declines. For roofers, that’s routine, not a red flag.
Underwriters Want the Real Story
E&S underwriters price on loss runs and real detail about your work mix. Quotes need those documents and genuine underwriting time — anyone promising otherwise is guessing.
One Signature, We Pull the Runs
Loss runs come from your current and prior carriers, and chasing them is the part that drags. Aster pulls them with one signed authorization — you sign once, we do the chasing.
What Underwriters Actually Look At
Four things decide how a roofing GL submission gets received. Walk in with clear answers on each and you’re a better risk on paper — which is the only version of you an underwriter ever meets.
- Work mix — residential vs. commercial. Underwriters price the two very differently and want real percentages, not “mostly houses.” Know your split before the application asks.
- Heat application and torch work. Hot work changes the fire exposure, and every roofing application asks about it. Be precise about what you torch, how often, and your fire-watch practice.
- Subcontractor use — and their certificates. Whether you sub work out, how much, and whether every sub hands you a current certificate of insurance of their own. Underwriters ask because it moves the risk directly.
- Years in operation and loss history. Your loss runs tell the story in the underwriter’s own language. A clean history is leverage; a claim with a clear fix explained up front reads far better than one discovered later.
The classic trap: uninsured subs. When a subcontractor without their own coverage causes a loss, the claim can land on your policy — and on your loss runs, where it follows you for years. Collect a current certificate from every sub before they touch the roof. It’s the same discipline your GC applies to you: jobsites check sub certificates for exactly this reason.
Your Jobsites Want a Certificate. Start With the Honest Number.
The Rate Check computes a market benchmark for a roofer your size in the page, before any form asks who you are. If you’re at or under market, we’ll tell you to stay put.
This is a market benchmark, not a quote or offer of insurance — actual premiums are determined by carriers upon application. Aster National Insurance Group · CA Lic #0N10039.